IVhorseman wrote:I only have the demo, but holy shit will I attempt to put a space station into orbit.

I still have the demo, I rather forgot about the game for a while and by the time i remembered it the Steam Sales had done their damage to my budget!

My current project (using an awesome mod that adds a four directional node!) is to make a VTOL atmospheric aircraft. Getting it to hover is tricky as the controls for KSP aren't very precise and the engines will either be under or over powered. It's still really damn fun to fly though.

Been playing a bit more, managed to strand a kerbal on the mun, attempted rescue, Ended with 3 more stranded kerbals...

Currently got two missions going;One is to land a rover on the Mun, I've managed to land the proto-type on the mun proving the launch system and landing system works. The system uses a Jet-Pack lander (like curiosity), which is awesome.The prototype had too little fuel and I had to cheat(editing the persistence file to give me more fuel) to finish the testing.

My other missions is to land on minmus, I've got a orbiter with the ISA mapsat on it which I will put in a polar orbit and get a good view of the terrain so that I can spot a good landing site.

Might as well post some screencaps of my recently-started 0.24 playthrough.

My first Mun landing in 0.24, whose main feature is the ability to make contracts with various ingame organizations. Note the appropriate flag.

My first spaceplane, the KSTS-1 Sleipnir, on the launch pad. Four massive SRBs can launch it out of the atmosphere (a bit too far out of the atmosphere, really - achieving a circular low orbit requires me to shed some velocity) while several drop tanks provide the fuel needed to get it into orbit. From there it can perform a flyby of Minmus or the Mun, then return to Kerbin and land at KSC. I used this spaceplane (or rather, its many less stable ancestors) to pick up science in orbit around Kerbin, the Mun and Minmus.

The Sleipnir has other uses as well. This image shows the climactic moment of Operation Morning Rescue, the first attempt to recover one of the many Kerbals launched into orbit by industrial accidents (these rescue missions are contracts you can take in 0.24, and they pop up disturbingly frequently).

0.24 also gives you a limited amount of money (which can be earned by completing contracts), and a major advantage of spaceplanes is that you can recover the most expensive parts (mainly cockpits and liquid fueled engines) to get a percentage of your money back. The closer to KSC you land, the more money you get- the Morning Rescue mission managed to land precisely on the runway, getting the entire cost of the Sleipnir back! The Sleipnir has two jet engines underneath the rear fuselage for landing, but I actually managed this without ever needing to use them. Despite a rocky development process (which chat regulars can attest to - Jeb and Bill wouldn't have survived the first test flight if not for their soul gems) the end result is well worth the effort. In the future I plan to use the Sleipnir to fulfill contracts that take place in orbit around Kerbin, upgrading it with RAPIER engines when they become available to make it a true SSTO.

Theblackdog wrote:Might as well post some screencaps of my recently-started 0.24 playthrough.

My first Mun landing in 0.24, whose main feature is the ability to make contracts with various ingame organizations. Note the appropriate flag.

My first spaceplane, the KSTS-1 Sleipnir, on the launch pad. Four massive SRBs can launch it out of the atmosphere (a bit too far out of the atmosphere, really - achieving a circular low orbit requires me to shed some velocity) while several drop tanks provide the fuel needed to get it into orbit. From there it can perform a flyby of Minmus or the Mun, then return to Kerbin and land at KSC. I used this spaceplane (or rather, its many less stable ancestors) to pick up science in orbit around Kerbin, the Mun and Minmus.

The Sleipnir has other uses as well. This image shows the climactic moment of Operation Morning Rescue, the first attempt to recover one of the many Kerbals launched into orbit by industrial accidents (these rescue missions are contracts you can take in 0.24, and they pop up disturbingly frequently).

0.24 also gives you a limited amount of money (which can be earned by completing contracts), and a major advantage of spaceplanes is that you can recover the most expensive parts (mainly cockpits and liquid fueled engines) to get a percentage of your money back. The closer to KSC you land, the more money you get- the Morning Rescue mission managed to land precisely on the runway, getting the entire cost of the Sleipnir back! The Sleipnir has two jet engines underneath the rear fuselage for landing, but I actually managed this without ever needing to use them. Despite a rocky development process (which chat regulars can attest to - Jeb and Bill wouldn't have survived the first test flight if not for their soul gems) the end result is well worth the effort. In the future I plan to use the Sleipnir to fulfill contracts that take place in orbit around Kerbin, upgrading it with RAPIER engines when they become available to make it a true SSTO.

About the SRB's, you could reduce the solid fuel, this may make you avoid having to worry about shedding velocity.

255 char limit?? Hell naw...I Survived the New Years 2014 AwsomePurge by Shadowscythe

With the data obtained from Asteroid Charlotte, the Kyubey Space Program was able to send unmanned probes to Duna and its moon Ike. Meanwhile, its spaceplane technology has improved by leaps and bounds.

The TX-1 Talisman is an atmospheric aircraft designed to test new equipment.

The KSTS-2 Areion is a simple upgrade to the KSTS-1 Sleipnir, replacing the Sleipnir's separate jet and rocket engines with a pair of RAPIER combined cycle engines. Unlike the Sleipnir, the Areion is a true SSTO, able to reach orbit around Kerbin or its satellites without drop tanks or solid fuel boosters.

However, the Areion was almost immediately surpassed by the Kyubey Space Program's first B9 spaceplane, the KHC-2 Nilokeras. Built using the new 2.5 meter SABRE engines, intakes, and precoolers, the Nilokeras has a 6 meter wide body cargo bay and can reach orbit with 2/3 of its internal fuel remaining.

The Nilokeras over the Mun. The Nilokeras can carry a heavy lander into orbit around the Mun or Minmus, making flights to either of these two bodies routine.